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UFA, RUSSIA—It was not a typical Morgan Rielly goal. But it was a key one.

The Maple Leafs prospect scored on one-timer Friday, a second-period goal that kick-started Team Canada’s come-from-behind 6-3 win over Slovakia.

“It’s a little bit uncharacteristic. I don’t take a lot of snapshots,” said Rielly. “If you ask me it went straight in. I’m pretty sure it got tipped.”

Rielly’s goal on a two-man power play got Canada within one after Slovakia opened up a 3-1 lead.

“We just kind of turned to each other and I think we all knew we had to be better,” said Rielly. “We have a whole lot of talent and we knew if we played our game, we’d be fine. That’s what we did.”

Ty Rattie — set up by Rielly — scored 3½ minutes later to tie the game, but acknowledged Rielly’s goal as the key to the comeback.

“That was huge,” Rattie said of Rielly’s goal. “We needed to utilize that 5-on-3 and he’s such an offensive player and so gifted. That really jump-started our comeback.

“We really got going after that and started to take over the game.”

Mark Scheifele scored before the period ended as Canada got a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

“It’s always a blast playing for Team Canada, but when you come from behind like that, it just makes it better,” said Rielly.

READY FOR ACTION: Nate MacKinnon, the projected No. 1 pick in the summer draft, has had a limited role so far in the world junior tournament. But one that is getting bigger.

With Boone Jenner out for three games, the 17-year-old MacKinnon had been a fourth-liner in this tournament dominated by 19-year-olds, instead of his projected role as the 13th forward. Now, with J.C. Lipon facing a disciplinary hearing on Saturday for his hit to the head of a Slovak player on Friday, MacKinnon could get even more action. He and Jonathan Drouin — also 17 and his Halifax Mooseheads linemate — stepped up on Friday with Canada’s bench shortened due to game ejections for Lipon and Anthony Camara.

“I thought Nate MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin were outstanding,” said Canada coach Steve Spott. “They looked like 19-year-olds out on the ice. I thought they were both tremendous. They controlled the puck, were hard on forecheck. Once those guys got more ice time, more opportunity, they definitely took advantage of it.”

MacKinnon says he’ll do whatever the team needs.

“My mind is always in it, no matter how much I play,” said MacKinnon. “I’m ready to help the team whatever way I can. Tonight I got a little bit more minutes toward the end and I thought we did a pretty good job out there. If it comes up, I’ll definitely be ready for it.”

MacKinnon is used to being the top gun on any offence he’s played for. Now he’s a secondary player on this talent-loaded Team Canada roster.

“It’s been fun, honest. It’s a different experience. It’s a good experience as well,” he said. “It’s fun to see a team win and obviously I’m not a part of it as other guys, but it’s about all 23 guys chipping in and doing a good job.”

SUBBAN CONFIDENT: Through two games, the most important thing is that Canadian goalie Malcolm Subban has two wins.

The one Friday against Slovakia wasn’t pretty. He looked shaky in the crease, and gave up a ton of rebounds, but he got the win, stopping 25 of 28 shots.

“I felt the biggest thing for me was making the big saves and giving my team a chance to win every night,” said Subban. “I felt I did that these two games.”

It was a bit of a surprise to be down 2-0 in the first period to Slovakia.

“I felt like I handled it well, I wasn’t getting down on myself. I stayed in the zone and stayed calm and kept making the saves I needed to make.”

Coach Spott seems intent on sticking with Subban for the tournament.

“The challenge for Malcolm, like all our players, is to get better every day,” said Spott. “As the games get more important, he’s going to have to be better. I think he realizes that. We’re fully confident he’ll get the job done.”

TV NUMBERS DOWN: Even though Canadian hockey fans have been suffering through a scarcity of the game this year, TSN took a ratings dip when it broadcast the country’s opening game at the world juniors on Boxing Day, the Star’s Alex Ballingall reports.

Because the annual tournament is being played in Ufa, Russia, Wednesday’s game aired live at 4:30 a.m. EST. An average audience of 372,000 tuned in to watch the Canadian squad beat Germany 9-3, according to TSN. The number of viewers peaked at 575,000.

Last year, when the tournament was in Calgary, the Boxing Day game attracted an average audience of 2.3 million.

TSN re-aired Wednesday’s game at noon EST, which garnered an average viewership of 849,000, according to the broadcaster. But overall, nearly 5 million Canadians watched some part of the Canada-Germany game on Boxing Day, compared to about 5.45 million for last year’s match on the same day.

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